Seasons Come and Seasons Go
by Timber Wolf of Purity
Summary: Family, friends, loved ones; all these people are in life. Yet for a ninja, they don't exist. There is only the mission ahead.  But is that all there is? Isn't there anything more? Sometimes the mundane, simple things are what make life worth fighting for. A collection of oneshots of various characters/pairings. Accepting requests Chapter 2: Tsunade forcefeeds Pakkun pottage. Ew...
1. Glass

_**Glass**_

_Itachi thinks about why he is doing what he is doing and why he is sparing Sasuke's life. He really did love his little brother. Older siblings just have a hard time showing things like affection._

* * *

><p>Itachi knew.<p>

He knew that it would _break_ Sasuke.

A seven-year-old couldn't lose his entire family and not remain scarred.

Itachi knew staying wasn't an option. Once the deed was done, he had to run.

Sasuke would be all alone then.

Alone – with no purpose.

No family to come home to – no mother to talk to about his day – no father to teach him new jutsus – no aunt to make him cookies – no uncle to keep his priorities straight – no brother to push him onward.

Itachi knew that without a purpose, a man loses his mind, goes insane, loses his will to live.

Sasuke needed a purpose.

And what better purpose than to kill the very man that inflicted such pain upon him?

It made sense. Itachi didn't like it – yet it made sense.

_That's the exact train of thought Sasuke's mind will take as well,_ he thought as he threw 7 kunai. Slipping two more out of what seemed to be thin air, he bounced two of the projectiles, sending all four flying in new directions. They hit every single target.

"Wow, Itachi! You nailed every target, even the one in the blind spot behind the rock." Sasuke gawked at the targets before he posed, two kunai held tightly in his small fists. "Alright, now it's my turn!"

"No, Sasuke. It's time to go," Itachi called out to his little brother's hiding place behind the tree. The young boy was obviously disappointed, lowering his kunai slowly.

"What happened to the new shuriken jutsu you were gonna teach me, huh?" He quirked a reproving eyebrow.

_Sometimes that little brat is too smart for his own good,_ the elder Uchiha thought.

"That'll have to wait til later. I have an important mission in the morning and I have to prepare for it." It was true. He really couldn't spend that extra time that Sasuke would want to put into the jutsu supervising him. Sasuke's lips puckered as he looked away from his brother, as if ashamed of his older brother.

"You're such a big fat liar…" He muttered, pouting at the unfairness of it all. Itachi smirked, then almost in acquiescence he summoned Sasuke forward with a couple flicks of his fingers. The boy's face lit up excitedly as he ran to Itachi, letting out a small giggle.

"Sorry Sasuke, maybe some other time," Itachi said as he poked Sasuke on his forehead. He grumbled uncontentedly, glaring at his older brother. Then, as if he hadn't heard a word Itachi said he shouted,

"Okay, just watch this!" He ran off, the two knives held firmly.

"Hey, be careful!" Itachi's warning went unheeded. Sasuke's cry of pain as he twisted his ankle echoed through the forest. Sighing, Itachi lifted him up onto his back.

"Come on, let's go home."

"Okay," Sasuke gritted out.

They had reached the village and had just passed the academy before Sasuke began giggling.

"How come the one who twisted his ankle is the one who's laughing?" Itachi playfully questioned. "Or maybe you were just looking for a way to get out of walking home…"

"No way, that's not it!" Sasuke replied indignantly. "It's just that I can't stop thinking how I'm finally gonna start at the academy tomorrow."

His mind was so simple, so naïve. Being a ninja was simply a game, a means to become a hero in his peers and his family's eyes.

He had no clue as to what a ninja had to face; what an _Uchiha_ had to face.

Itachi knew.

He knew it would _crack_ Sasuke.

The young boy might become exactly what Itachi wanted him to be, live exactly the way he calculated.

The young boy might grow up bitter and become the very thing he wished to destroy.

It was a risk he would have to take.

_He's not a bet for stakes to be made on,_ a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Perhaps his better judgment. _He's a human being just like you and everyone else out there._

_But if I don't do this, he'll lose what little hope he has of a normal life left…_

Itachi explained the Uchiha clan's history to Sasuke as they passed the police headquarters. Sasuke had finally noticed the Uchiha insignia on the police insignia.

"Are you gonna join the force too?" Sasuke asked excitedly.

"Well, I'm not sure." Itachi replied hesitantly, truthfully. Second thoughts were becoming his constant companions these days.

"Why not?" The young Uchiha demanded his small little mind not able to comprehend such thoughts. Thankfully, he let the matter drop.

The thought of what he had to do haunted him, kept him from sleeping, kept him from performing at his best.

And people noticed.

The day after the Clan meeting, which he didn't show up to because of… obvious reasons. The other members of the council were none too pleased.

He had been in the middle of talking with Sasuke about power, hoping he'd remember his words when all was said and done, when they came up to the door, demanding to know why he'd been absent. They mentioned Shisui's death.

They accused him of it.

Itachi lost his temper. He'd never been good at controlling, in all his years.

"The people of this clan are all the same. You focus on the trivial and lose sight of what is most important," he sneered.

"Such arrogance!" His father accused him.

"That's enough! If I hear one more word of this nonsense, I'll have you locked up behind bars!"

_ "Being the best isn't all it's cracked up to be…"_ He had told Sasuke not minutes before.

It was true. Being the best meant maintaining that good reputation.

Itachi hated it.

"Big brother you have to stop!" Sasuke's pleading voice rang out in the courtyard.

Itachi gasped as he realized what he'd been about to do. It wasn't time yet, not yet the time. He fell flat on his face before his accusers.

"I'm not the one who killed Shisui, but I apologize for the words I have spoken. I'm truly sorry." He knew they couldn't arrest him since he was an ANBU, but they would do everything within their power to mess everything up.

_The time is drawing near…_ He thought somberly.

Itachi knew.

He knew it would _shatter_ Sasuke.

He waited until Sasuke left for the academy, when only those whose lives need be taken were there.

Sasuke seeing the results wouldn't be avoidable.

Itachi berated Sasuke for his foolishness.

"I'm scared…I'm scared!" Sasuke scrambled out of their parents room, running to the outside of the Uchiha compound. Itachi cut him off.

He told him how he needed someone to test his abilities. Only Sasuke would be worthy, only Sasuke would be capable of using Mangekyō Sharingan.

Only Sasuke would have the hate needed to pursue Itachi.

"Foolish little brother…If you wish to kill me in hate and revenge, surviving in such an unsightly manner as this, by all means, flee – cling to your wretched life.

And then, one day, when you posses the same eyes, _come back and face me."_

His eyes flashed and his little brother fell to the ground, unconscious.

Itachi left him lying there. The Leaf shinobi would enter Sasuke into the hospital when they found the others. He had to get out of Konoha, and fast.

_The deed was done._

Itachi knew. He had known from the start.

He knew it would _break _Sasuke. The traumatic life with no family would _crack_ Sasuke.

Itachi knew.

A life with no purpose – would _shatter_ Sasuke – like **_glass_**.

* * *

><p><em><span>AN:<span>_ _I'm planning on making this a one-shot series similar to others floating around. If you readers will please review or message me, giving me a dare, a sentence, a portion of lyrics from a song, anything and I'll make a one-shot out of it. I'll do romantic pairings, I'll do things like this between brothers, I'll do almost anything. :) The only pairings I won't do are on my profile so check that out if you feel like it. I'll attempt to every dare I receive, just to please you all. :D Please review and give me some dares! _

_In Christ,_

_Timber Wolf_


	2. Pottage

_**Pottage**_

_Based off of two random names (Tsunade and Pakkun) and one random word from the dictionary (Pottage)_

_Pakkun's been acting strange, but Kakashi can't take care of him. The Inuzuka clan is unavailable or unwilling. His only option left is Tsunade…What does she think Pakkun needs to get better? Maybe he was better off going on that mission with Kakashi…_

* * *

><p>The small dog struggled against his master's arms wrapped tightly around his middle. Kakashi refused to let him go, but rather would manipulate his arms into a more secure place around Pakkun if he managed to slip out of the first.<p>

"Kakashi, why do you have to take me to _her?_" He complained. "I told you, I'm not sick!" The masked ninja looked down at him reprovingly.

"We've gone over this, Pakkun," he stated calmly, though the pug kept struggling. "You've had that nasty cough, you've been sneezing, and you threw up after our morning walk."

"It was a long walk and I had just eaten breakfast!"

"Three times in a row," Kakashi finished. "That's not normal, so we're going to see her to see if there _is_ in fact something wrong with you and what you need to do to get better."

Pakkun grumbled, straining against Kakashi's forearms, unable to free his small body. What was worse was that Kakashi was running through the streets of Konoha, rather than on the rooftops, displaying his antics for the whole village to see.

Groaning at the humiliation of it all, he finally settled down in his master's arms, begrudgingly. Kakashi let out a chuckle before picking up his pace a bit more to the hospital.

_Finally, _Pakkun thought when they reached the fenced-in building. Kakashi politely asked the attendant at the main desk if Tsunade was there. When she informed him that she was, he asked if he could see her.

A few messengers and messages later, Kakashi was sent into the west wing on the left side of the courtyard, room W25. When he reached the room and knocked gently, Pakkun attempted one last time to escape his master.

He slipped out almost entirely before Kakashi noticed and clung to what little of the pug he had left—his hind paws. The dog squealed as his entire body hung from Kakashi's fingers.

"What is it?" A voice growled as the door flew open revealing the comical sight. Awkward silence ensued. Kakashi gathered up his dog and smiled sheepishly at Lady Tsunade.

"Sorry about that," he said. "He hates visiting doctors." She quirked a brow at them.

"You do realize that this is a hospital for _humans_? This is Hana Inuzuka's area of expertise, not mine." Kakashi winced, looking down at his ninja hound.

"Right…well, you see, Hana is out on a mission, her mother wouldn't help and Kiba didn't know what to do about him." He shrugged apologetically. Tsunade's countenance relaxed.

"Oh, well then come on in, I suppose." She held the door open for the Copy Ninja and closed the door after him.

"So, what are the symptoms?"

"Coughing, sneezing, and retching." The blond woman had Kakashi set Pakkun on the examination table and began looking him over.

"Did they just start this morning?"

"Yes."

"What did he eat this morning?"

"The usual; a bowl of dog food."

"Dry or wet?"

"Dry."

"Did you go on a mission or a long walk this morning?"

"Yes, a long walk."

"Hm…I see." She carefully removed Pakkun's blue vest and felt his lungs and had him breathe in deeply a few times. They always ended in a raspy cough.

"Just as I thought," she calmly observed. "You have ¹kennel cough, Pakkun!"

"What?" The dog shouted. "No! I can't! That means I'll miss out on the mission–"

"Mission?" Tsunade interrupted. "What mission?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, that's the thing…I have to leave for a mission with my dogs at 0900. I can't take care of Pakkun while I'm away. Would you...?" He trailed off. He was afraid of the Hokage's wrath, not wanting to say it out loud. Thankfully, she didn't seem inclined to be so.

"I see. Well, it's all for the best. Pakkun needs to be quarantined and put on antibiotics. Also, his diet will need to be changed so as to allay the throwing up until he's better. It's better if he's here than with the other dogs."

As she said this, she went to a cupboard and pulled out various pills and capsules. Deciding on one, she went over to Pakkun and shoved it down his throat, holding his muzzle shut to prevent any upheaval. Pakkun's eyes bulged as he attempted to spit the offending thing out. "Kennel cough is highly contagious so keep an eye on the others for similar symptoms."

Finally, it seemed he swallowed it since he stopped fighting against the woman and his eyes looked a little glazed. Sighing contentedly, she let him go. As soon as she did, his little pink tongue came peeping out and with it a small white capsule, coated in saliva. Kakashi paled and Tsunade's face reddened. It seemed all his blood went into her.

"Why, you little!" She roared.

"I'll be leaving you to it, then." Kakashi saluted before flash-stepping out of there.

"What is _that?_" Pakkun asked, wary of what was being presented to him. It _couldn't_ be food. There could be _no_ creature _ever created_ that could consume such a _disgusting_ substance and live! …Could there?

There could.

"Pottage," Tsunade stated simply. "Since you've been throwing up, you need to be on a bland diet." Her back was turned as she put the ingredients of the concoction away.

"Define bland diet," he told her, pushing his food away with one delicately pink paw. Little did he know that the blond was sneaking behind him. Then she pounced.

He yelped as she tucked him under one arm. She grabbed a spoonful of the stuff and crammed it into his mouth, holding shut his muzzle once again. He whined and whimpered as he tried not to swallow the food.

_Ugh, this stuff tastes awful!_ He thought. _But if I don't swallow it, it'll just wallow in my mouth. Oh, this is so gross…_ The small dog, in one giant gulp, swallowed the pottage.

"There! Now was that so hard?" She asked triumphantly. Cleaning things up, she shoved the bowl once more into Pakkun's face.

"You have no idea…" he muttered darkly. With a painful grimace, he took a small mouthful. He shivered as it slid down his throat. Soon enough, the pottage was gone.

"What's in that stuff?" He demanded. Tsunade, washing her hands in the sink, looked to the ceiling in thought.

"Hm… Rice, broccoli stalks and asparagus spears." His eyes practically came out of his head.

"Broccoli and asparagus spears?" He squeaked out. "You know a dog's diet consists mainly of meat and _occasionally_ rice, right?"

"Wrong!" Tsunade declared cheerfully, her forefinger extended toward the sky. "Only 55% of a dog's diet needs to be meat. The other 45% should be grains, fruits and vegetables, that is, a completely healthy diet consist of such. Vegetables boost the immune system so you're going to eat lots of that until Kakashi gets back." Looking down at his empty bowl, she smirked.

"And seeing as how you've finished your first bowl so quickly, why not eat a couple more!" He backed away from the shadowed figure approaching him with more of the awful goop.

"_More?_" He panicked as she picked him up and crammed more into his muzzle, force feeding him. Once three more bowls were empty, she let him down, content.

Pakkun grumbled in defeat, lying down on the bed assigned to him. It painfully reminded him of Kakashi's bed, being so obviously made for a human. It reminded him of the nights when a big lightning storm would roll in and all the dogs would pile into bed with the masked ninja.

He closed his eyes and pictured the warmth and comfort of his brothers lying beside him with a loving hand not too far away, always ready to scratch an ear or two. Right as he was about to doze off, that _woman's_ loud voice broke through his sub-conscious.

"Right! I'll be heading out now. You just get some rest. I'll have Sakura check in on you now and then since I've got some things to do. Remember to eat _whatever_ she gives you, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he grunted from behind his paws. As soon as he heard the clicking

of her heels fade down the halls, he muttered insults at her.

"Stupid woman…wouldn't know the smell of a ²vagrant from her own…can't even cook…how'd she become Hokage?" Pakkun sighed. A scented breeze rolled in through the open window, the thin curtains fluttering with it. His inhaled deeply, enjoying the herbal scent.

"Maybe this won't be so bad…" he said. And that's what he thought.

Until the nurses passed by his door.

"Oh. My! Goodness. Gracious!" The young blond was obnoxiously chewing her gum. The raven-haired girl next to her cooed at him.

"He's soooo cuute, Aya!" She screeched. Aya scooped him up and clutched him to her…well-endowed chest.

"Oh! Poor. Wittdle. Puppy! You sick, huh?" She aggressively stroked his head whilst the other tugged on his ears painfully. He considered talking, telling them to back off, but then they might become all the more enthralled with him.

_Send someone to save me, _he silently prayed. _Please, save me from this abuse._ God saw fit to answer his prayer with a yes.

"Aya! Miki! What are you two doing here when you're on duty?" A stern voice demanded. Aya dropped him like a hot coal and turned to attention with the raven-haired girl. Thankfully, he landed on the white hospital bed, though he wrinkled up the sheets a little bit. Peering between the immature girls, he caught a glimpse of pink hair.

_Sakura…_ he thought gratefully.

"Miss Haruno!" They seemed frightened by her appearance. Pakkun smirked to himself.

"I won't ask again." She walked forward threateningly.

"W-we were, uh…" Aya seemed at a loss.

"We were just walking to our posts when we saw this puppy and he looked like he was going to throw up and since we don't see puppies here that often…uh…" Sakura nodded and dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

"I'll take it over from here. Go to your posts."

"Yes, Miss Haruno!" They said simultaneously before running out and down the halls. Sakura walked up to Pakkun and began smoothing his ruffled fur.

"Hey, Pakkun," she greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here? Didn't Kakashi just go out on a mission?" He relished in her touch, arching his back before answering. Besides Kakashi's, Pakkun only enjoyed Sakura's touch out of all the humans of his acquaintance.

"Tsunade says I have Kennel Cough, but I have to be quarantined so Kakashi left me here. Thanks, by the way." She sat down, the bed dipping under her weight and began massaging his ears gently.

"No problem," she said with a chuckle. "Those girls aren't going to make it as medics. They have such short attention spans."

"You got that right," he grumbled in his throat.

"So what is Lady Tsunade putting you on?" She inquired.

"I don't know about the medicine, but she's feeding me this awful pottage stuff. It tastes worse than when Kakashi had us try his cooking back in the day." Sakura laughed at the reference of Kakashi in his younger days.

"What were your symptoms?"

"Coughing, sneezing and retching. I told Kakashi it was just my allergies. I always get that way this time of year, but he wouldn't listen." Sakura nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, that would do that…what did you eat yesterday?" Pakkun wrinkled his brow in thought.

"Well, Kakashi said it was my normal food, but it tasted kind of funny. It was softer than usual…and it smelled funny." Sakura raised an eyebrow before running a glowing hand over his small body a few times.

"What are you doing?" He asked nervously.

"I'm scanning your system, give me a second." Pakkun settled down in her lap. Her stroking was slow and methodical, soothing him into sleep. He didn't notice she'd put him down until she came back from doing some sort of test. She held something out in front of his nose.

"Is this what it smelled like?" He lifted his head and sniffed deeply. It was a rich, intoxicating scent, full of sugar and…cocoa?

"Yeah, that's it. What is that?" He opened his eyes to see an opened bar of candy. She began snickering as she fell down beside him, laughing. Pakkun frowned and crawled over to hover above her face.

"What's so funny? What is that stuff? Did it do something to me?" Tears were streaming from Sakura's eyes now, but she seemed to be calming down.

"Oh my…" she said wiping the tears away. "Pakkun, did Naruto go anywhere near your bowl when we visited last night?"

"Yeah," he answered hesitantly. "What does that–" His eyes widened as he remembered the crazy blonde munching on his chocolate bar loudly talking to Kakashi, bits and pieces of the poisonous substance flying from his mouth as he spoke, landing in…_his_ _bowl._

"You mean…" he trailed off, horrified. The pink-headed girl nodded.

"Yup! ³You ate chocolate! Being a ninja dog, though, you've got a gut of iron so you didn't suffer from the normal symptoms dogs usual get when they've eaten chocolate." Pakkun sighed, lying down against Sakura's side.

"Well, I guess that's a relief. I'm not sick then." Sakura smiled and scratched his ears humming to herself, enjoying the few moments she had for her break. Suddenly Pakkun leapt to his feet.

"Wait a minute! You mean I had to eat the disgusting, revolting pottage **_f_****_or nothing?_**"

* * *

><p>¹Kennel Cough - <em>Kennel cough<em>_ is a highly contagious __canine__ illness characterized by inflammation of the upper __respiratory system__. Symptoms can include a harsh, dry hacking/coughing, retching, sneezing, snorting, gagging or vomiting in response to light pressing of the __trachea__ or after excitement or exercise._

²Vagrant - _A person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp._

_³_You ate chocolate! – _Normally when a dog eats chocolate, the signs are: "The central__ nervous system__ is affected (may cause your dog to tilt his head or bob, walk backwards or to the side almost as if he's drunk) and the heart muscle ( heavy panting, wide eyes and whining like he just finished chasing a cat; heart attack)." But if the dog isn't showing these signs: "If your dog isn't displaying signs of symptoms, the fat content may cause nausea or diarrhea. If this happens, watch him carefully. If his symptoms don't clear up within eight hours, call your veterinarian." Kakashi of course, noticed right away (Pakkun didn't eat the chocolate til the next morning)_

_Pottage__ is __a thick __soup__ or __stew__ made by boiling __vegetables__, __grains__, and/or occasionally __meat__ or __fish__. Obviously a bland diet wouldn't have meat with it, thus Pakkun's torment. ;)_

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Again, just review and give me a request and I'll do my best to write it for you. :) I look forward to see what you guys come up with!

In Christ,

~Timber Wolf


End file.
